Get Off Your High Horse, Lady
by kaiilyn23
Summary: "The moment I saw you, I knew you were trouble." He chuckled as he placed a sweet, loving kiss on his wife's forehead. "But that moment, I also fell in love with you." Haley James didn't believe in 'true love'... until she met him.
1. Chapter 1

"The moment I saw you, I knew you were trouble." He chuckled as he placed a sweet, loving kiss on his wife's forehead. "But that moment, I also fell in love with you."

_xxx_

Haley James shrugged on her leather jacket, which underneath of she was wearing a simple black t-shirt, and black skinny jean's and black strappy-heals. She fancied the color black, it usually suited her mood, which rarely changed. She grabbed her brown leather shoulder bag, and walked out to her restored 1968 black, Mustang convertible. It was basically her baby; she put all her pride and effort into it. Her mother had left it to her when she passed away quite a few years before, before she'd even had her license, because her mother knew how much her daughter loved the car.

Haley carelessly threw the bag into her Mustang, and hopped right into the drivers seat without even bothering to open the door. She smirked proudly to herself, started the engine, and headed for Tree Hill High, her new personal hell on earth.

Haley was nineteen, she was supposed to of graduated years before. But since she moved from Canada to the United States in the summer she was supposed to be entering sixth grade, they placed her in fifth since the systems were completely different in the two countries. She was furious, of course, but there was nothing that could be changed. Haley James was never nervous, about anything, but she knew that rumors would fly once people knew how old she was.

She hated North Carolina with a passion. She's recently transfered from Chicago, where she had lived with her aunt. Haley loved her aunt, they got along quite well, but then her aunt got pregnant, and Haley knew that wasn't going to work for her, having a screaming baby in the house? No thanks. So, Haley packed up her things, and decided to give Tree Hill, North Carolina a try, all by her lonesome.

Haley knew she had the option of forgetting about school altogether, since legally that was her choice, but she at least wanted to graduate high school. She wasn't the brightest or smartest, but she knew that she could do one more year of the thing. Plus she didn't have any adults to go home to afterward, she had her nice house in the finest area of Tree Hill, courtesy of her brother, who generously offered to pay for the home for his "baby sister". Her brother lived in Los Angeles, therefore they didn't get a lot of time to spend with each other, and he thought the least he could do (since he was insanely wealthy,) was buy her a nice house she could enjoy.

"Here goes nothing," Haley whispered to herself as she parked her car in the small, nothing special, parking lot to the small, nothing special high school. _"I went to elementary schools bigger than this!"_ Haley thought to herself, remembering her elementary school back in Chicago, even back in Canada. _"Why am I doing this again?"_

_xxx_

Rachel Gatina and Peyton Sawyer, the infamous duo of Tree Hill High, stood together, watching as everyone prowled over their fresh meat. Peyton was unamused, seeing as this girl obviously had the same style as her, and that would not do. It pissed her right off, actually. Peyton was known for being unique, and extremely badass, and she liked it that way. She didn't need some tramp coming in and ruining everything she had built, now did she.

Rachel, on the other hand, thought that the girl was even more unique and badass looking than Peyton. Not to mention... she was hot! Peyton had some _serious _competition.

"I don't like her," Peyton mumbled bitterly, glaring at the girl who was walking up to the school. Peyton didn't like her for a number of reasons, one being she had a nicer and more expensive vintage car than she did, and a more expensive looking leather jacket than she had.

"She looks cool," Rachel mused, walking away from her very pissed off friend and going over to meet her hopefully new companion.

"Bitch," Peyton spat back in a whisper.

_xxx_

As Haley was making her way to the front doors of the small school, she was interrupted by the high pitched, severely annoying voice of a redhead, who apparently went by the name of 'Rachel'. "Hi, my name's Rachel Gatina, and you are...?"

"Haley James," Haley finished for her. Rachel didn't seem to preppy, she actually looked like someone Haley could have some fun with. "So if this is your high school, is your elementary school like the size of a corner store or something?"

Rachel laughed. "Pretty fucking much, I hate this stupid small town."

Yeah, Haley was definitely starting to like this Rachel girl. Rachel seemed to have a little different style, maybe more of a social bee, but Haley wasn't looking for a little minien or anything, she was looking for someone she could relate to a little bit, and have some fun with. When she looked ahead, there was a frizzy, curly haired girl glaring at her. _'Now that's the type of person I don't want to be friends with.' _She thought to herself. "So what do you guys do for fun here?"

"Depends what kind of "fun" you're looking for," Rachel smirked. "I mean, occasionally someone throws a wickedly awesome party, but that's rare. Most of the time I hit the clubs, it may not seem like it but there are some really fun and interesting men in Tree Hill, but not the high school ones." Rachel told her, Haley nodded her head. "Don't even try with any of these dumb jocks, they act like they're experienced, when really I de-virginized them all."

Haley chuckled. "Wanna show me around the town tonight? I could use some fun."

Rachel smiled; Peyton didn't know what she was missing, this Haley didn't seem so bad at all. She was definitely reserved, and definitely a badass, but Rachel knew she'd be having lots of fun with her, maybe even more fun then she'd had with Peyton. Peyton seemed like a big badass, but she wasn't really. She wore dark clothes and drove a dark vintage car, but it was more like an act. "Sure, how about you come to my place right after school and we can get ready together?"

"Sure, sounds great."

"Perfect." Rachel grinned."And just so you know, it's rare that I do this... socialize with people I barely know, I mean don't get me wrong I socialize with everyone in the school, but I actually_like _you."

"So should I be honored?"

"Definitely." The girls were now standing outside the office, already running late for class. Haley didn't really care, and neither did Rachel. They could stand out there all day for all they cared. "Anyway, I guess we should make an appearance in class today, huh? What do you have first?"

"Um, I have Mr. Rae, English I think." Haley told the redhead.

"Great, me too!" Rachel beamed. "Just so you know, I love to piss him off, so you can totally help me. He'll just _love _that we're both coming in late."

Haley smirked. Maybe Tree Hill wasn't so bad after all.

**A/N: So, this is my first story. This chapter was meant to be longer, but I liked where it cut off. I plan on making my chapters much longer, but I thought it was appropriate to keep it short since it's my first chapter and all and I mainly want to see if people are interested.  
**

**I intend on there being "Naley", but in order to see that, you'll have to read and review! :) Aren't I just evil? So yeah, Nathan will come into the story, but I won't give any spoilers away! Your favourite One Tree Hill characters will be in here, I promise, and your not-so-favourites too of course :)**

**Yeah, Haley's "out of character", I've added my own twist to her I guess. Maybe some will like my idea, some won't. Whatever! Personal opinions, totally cool.**

**I don't give spoilers away, however, if you're confused about something I've mentioned or anything I've said in my story, please let me know either in a review or message me because I don't want you guys being confused over my story!**

**So anyway, my name is Kailyn, and I'm from Canada, and I lived in the States but only until I was seven so if I mention something and you're not from Canada and you don't understand it or something... I apologize! There's quite a few differences between the two countries, like here... our legal drinking age is nineteen, and yours is twenty-one, and some provinces it's eighteen! (Na na na na boo boo!) ;) I'm the nicest, I know.**

**Okay well I better stop before my authors note is longer than my chapter.**

**PLEASE, let me know what you think! *Please & thank you, I mean.***

**THANKS A MILLION,  
Kailyn**

**PS: To avoid confusion, "The moment I saw you, I knew you were trouble." He chuckled as he placed a sweet, loving kiss on his wife's forehead. "But that moment, I also fell in love with you.", well, it's into the future, and you'll figure out who it is and who he's saying it to on the last chapter of my story... :) I already know where I'm going with my story, but if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them.**


	2. Chapter 2

Rachel and Haley ended up being late, just as they had planned. Rachel had filled Haley in on how much they lived for pissing of Mr. Rae, and how easily it happened. Rachel was absolutely sure that one day, he was just going to walk out and quit. He had never walked out on the class, but she knew that he'd been tempted to a few times, mostly because of Rachel and her crude comments. Rachel liked to rile him up, one time she swears that she did more than just "rile him up" but nobody else wanted to believe it, mostly because it was sickening to think that a seventeen, soon to be eighteen year old girl was turning on a thirty-something year old married man, who was also her teacher.

The two carelessly walked into class, purposely putting on an act of not caring to the teacher. Usually Haley walked in silently to class, without causing a scene, but Tree Hill had a whole, entirely new influence on her. When they walked in, they could see the fury building up in the bald teachers eyes. Haley could practically see the veins popping in his bald head, it was kind of grossing her out. '_I feel like vomiting,_' she thought to herself, she almost had the nerve to say it out loud but she decided that keeping it to herself might just be a better idea. "Excuse me, Ms. Gatina and Ms...?"

"What makes you think I'm a Ms? For all you know, I could be _Mrs, _or even _Mr._" The class chuckled, Haley definitely understood what Rachel meant by how good it felt to piss this guy off. She felt a sense of pride in her body, mixed with a little bit of arrogance, and maybe a little bit of guilt. Haley _did _have a heart, she just had nobody to give it to or share it with. One day she knew she wanted to "settle down" and have a family, but she had an issue, she didn't believe in love. "I take offense, Mr. Rae."

"Just sit down!" He barked, looking over his attendance sheet, he realized that it was his new student, Haley James. He had read on her previous school records, more like been warned, that she was a little trouble maker. Though the record never showed any real disturbances _during _class time, so he was sure that Rachel Gatina had some sort of influence on Haley James. "Well, Haley James, now that we've got your gender sorted out, we can sort out your detention for after school, right?" He quipped.

"Right," Haley smirked. There was no way she'd be in detention for long, maybe ten minutes tops, if even. Haley James never did the time, she only did the crime, and it was a known fact to everyone that knew her well enough. She was supposed to be suspended for a whole school week once back in Chicago, but she talked her way out of it... okay, so she may have seduced her young, attractive, male English teacher, but the point is that she got herself out of a week suspension without anybody else knowing how she did it.

"So Mr. Rae, how's your sex life? With your attitude I'm guessing pretty bad, hey?" The class let out laughter, causing Mr. Rae to fume! He actually stepped out of the classroom, something that Rachel had never seen him do before. Rachel didn't care though, all she cared about was that she was successful. Peyton was never any fun when it came to pissing people off; she could do it easily, but in a whole different and moody way. She could piss people off with her "moodiness" and complete bitchyness, something that Rachel wasn't very fond of. She was constantly reminding Peyton of how lame she was, and how she wasn't any fun. But as soon as Rachel saw Haley the moment she stepped out of her car, she knew that Haley would be a good friend. She only really stuck with Peyton, because she was the only one willing to be her actual _friend._ "We did it, HJames, we officially rock. Success! We seriously need to celebrate our success tonight."

Haley nodded her head in agreement. Her and Rachel definitely had a lot of celebrating to do. Haley knew that it involved alcohol, which she could definitely use after that day. Hell, she was ready to have some Jack Daniels when she left the house that morning for school. But she knew that would get her nothing but a shitty hangover, and discriminating looks from her fellow classmates. So she avoided the alcohol that morning and fled to school, and she realized that thanks to Rachel Gatina, it wouldn't be so horrible after all, maybe she would even grow a small liking to the "boring" small town of Tree Hill, North Carolina. It was still nothing compared to Chicago, but she'd get used to it. Eventually.

_xxx_

Peyton watched the interaction between her supposed best friend and the "fresh meat". She couldn't stand it, it was sickening. Rachel was _her _best friend, it had been that way since they were five years old, that's thirteen fucking years! This bitch couldn't just waltz in and take that away from her; she'd already lost too much in her life to lose her best friend, too. Peyton knew she'd have to do something to make this "Haley" back the hell off, whether it was painful or not, it was happening. Peyton hoped that Rachel would come to her senses sooner than later so she didn't have to make herself out to be too horrible, because God knows what kind of rumors people would start to spread. With her luck, something would happen like in Mean Girls, when Regina and Cady were talking and then Regina got hit by the bus, everyone automatically assumed Cady pushed her.

'_Maybe "accidentally" pushing her in front of a bus would work._' Peyton thought to herself. But then she realized that was too risky. What if the police got involved? She didn't mind spending a couple hours in a jail cell, that was nothing, but spending a few _years_? No. Even so, she'd find _some way _to get out of it. She was once sentenced to a day and a half in the slammer, but she seduced the guard. Okay, well she didn't really have to do anything, he was just scared of every criminal that walked in and usually let them go within an hour. Only in Tree Hill.

'_I'll do something,_' Peyton smiled mischievously to herself, she didn't care if anybody was watching. '_Something big._' Peyton already started making plans in her head. Haley James would be for her wrong doings, and she would pay big time.

But there was one thing Peyton had to consider, or else she could be in serious trouble. She had no idea who the hell she was messing with. Hopefully Peyton realized that if you attempt to fight with fire, you'll just end up getting burned, but chances were, Peyton would most likely find out the hard way.

_xxx_

After five minutes, Mr. Rae re-entered the classroom, but this time not alone. He had brought in Principle Turner, and everyone knew why. '_Jesus, what a wimp._' Haley thought to herself. '_He can't handle us himself, so he had to get the big bad principle? Seriously, not intimidating._' Rachel, who was sitting in front of her, was thinking the exact same thing. The two were more alike then they initially thought, which was another reason Peyton hated Haley so much already. Peyton knew that she had big competition, therefore she knew it would be a big god damn fight. But she was ready for it, even if it came with consequences. She didn't really care about consequences, well, more like she didn't really think about what the consequences could be.

"Haley James and Rachel Gatina!" Principle Turner sounded beyond pissed off; the students were almost pissing themselves, but Rachel and Haley stood in there seat, as if nothing had happened. Haley was trying really hard to stifle a smirk, but it wasn't working. She let go, and knew now that her smirk was very visible to Principle Turner, as she noticed his expression change. "Is something funny, Ms. James?" Turner asked quietly, but dead seriously. He was definitely pissed off now. "I ASKED you a question, Ms. James!"

"Yeah, actually there is something funny." She said, Turner looked curious. "Your face."

It was one of the most idiotic jokes in history, but the class laughed anyway. When you tell a teacher or principle that their face is funny, it's obviously going to be a little funny.

Rachel held her hand behind her, signaling a "low five" from Haley. Haley slapped her hand onto the proud redheads, and Principle Turner was _not _amused. While Rachel had her head turned back to face Haley, he slapped his hand, hard and forceful on her desk, causing her to jolt a little bit. He took her by surprise, but she wasn't by any means scared or frightened by his actions. "RACHEL GATINA, THIS INVOLVES YOU TOO, SO DON'T THINK THAT YOU CAN MESS AROUND RIGHT NOW AND GET AWAY WITH IT."

"Wise words, Turner." Rachel grinned sarcastically. "Would you like an applause? Standing ovation?"

"That's it!" His voice boomed throughout the whole entire school for sure. "BOTH OF YOU, MY OFFICE." They sat there for a minute, not moving an inch. "NOW!"

"Okay okay!" Haley smiled. "It's not like we're dying or anything today, well, Rachel and I aren't, but you look pretty old Turner-"

Before she could finish her smart ass comment, Principle Turner cut her off. "GET TO MY FUCKING OFFICE, NOW!"

Haley was pretty sure she'd never seen a "school authority" so pissed off in her life, and she was enjoying every bit of it. For some reason, she felt even more bad ass in Tree Hill than she had in Chicago. She was definitely a little bit more outgoing and outspoken, and not as afraid to piss elders off. The great thing was, she had no adults to be getting pissed off at her for it either when she went home, so if they threatened to suspend her, it would be like a vacation.

It worked the same way for Rachel, since her parents had practically abandoned her, but left her the house and a credit card, and her father's Denali. It worked perfectly fine for Rachel, and Haley's arrangement worked fine for her.

The trouble making teens scurried out of the classroom, realizing that Turner wasn't following them. They fled to Haley's Mustang, and sped off, far away from the school. They couldn't control their fits of giggles; Haley felt completely bad ass, and Rachel felt normal, like herself. "That was so fucking awesome, did you see his face!"

Rachel could barely speak, she couldn't stop laughing from the event that had just occurred. She was 100% sure, that her and Haley James would be getting into a hell of a lot of trouble for the next year, maybe even more depending whether their friendship continued on or not. "It was pretty hilarious. And the way Mr. Rae was looking at us!"

"He's such a wimp!" Haley said, afterward gasping for air. Like Rachel, she could barely breath, or drive for that matter. "Rachel, where's a good bar we could go to?"

Rachel grinned. "Let me drive."

**A/N: Sorry I didn't update sooner! I meant to update yesterday, but then I went to my friend's place the night before and we had a party so I didn't really get a chance. By the way, I meant to have this chapter like four thousand words longer, but I guess I didn't save properly so it only got a little over two thousand? Anyway, I just wanted to get the next chapter out to you but I _promise_ next chapter will be a lot longer than this! Stupid computer glitches... or "me" glitches... lol. **

**There are no words to describe how grateful I am, to all of you. When I wrote the beginning of this story I was expecting three, maybe four reviews. And now I have twenty-five? Twenty-five? Wow, you guys have blown me away. Thank you, SO, much! I'm so happy that you're all enjoying this story. I hope I can continue to please you (TWSS, no, no? Okay.) :) **

**On a completely random note, I saw The Other Guys last night, and I personally loved it. For some reason Terry (Mark Wahlberg's character,) reminded me of Nathan (Scott) in a way... I think James Lafferty would of played the role pretty well. I don't know why though. Maybe my obsession with James and Nathan has just gone so far that everyone with dark hair and a temper reminds me of Nate? Haha.**

**Allen reminded me a little bit of Tim, only a little bit though. Mostly Allen from The Hangover though lol!**

**PLEASE, continue to update and let me know your thoughts on the story! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Hesitantly, Haley got out of the drivers seat while Rachel scooted over. Haley got into the passengers side of the car, and Rachel immediately started speeding off into the small, quiet town of Tree Hill. Rachel obviously knew where she was going, and what she was doing, so Haley wasn't as nervous as she initially was. Even though she knew that Rachel was rebellious and didn't care what people had to say, Haley knew she could trust Rachel, even though they'd only knew each other for two hours, if not less. "So, what's the deal with that curly haired girl? She kept glaring at me, is she les or something?"

Rachel let out a chuckle, trying to think of a way to lightly define Peyton and her moods. "That would be Peyton," she said. "I've known her since I moved to Tree Hill in seventh grade, she's always been moody. She doesn't like you, she told me that this morning when she first laid her eyes on you. And you wanna know why?" Haley nodded her head. "Because she's jealous. I mean she didn't exactly say that, but it's pretty obvious. She didn't like how similar you two were in your style, for fucks sake you both have black vintage cars, leather jackets, that fierce attitude, but you'rs is even more fierce than hers. She's a total downer. Everyone thinks she's emo because I'm the only person she talks to."

"Interesting," Haley mused.

"Yeah, so anyway, now I'm fairly sure she's jealous because I've chosen you over her. In all due respect, you're totally much cooler than her. I like you better. Plus... well, I've never said this to anybody, but you're cool, and nice. I mean I don't know you very well, but I think I know you well enough to know that you're not my friend because I have a big house and money. That's usually why people "befriend" me, so that they can throw parties at my house and go shopping with me because they know I'll pay."

Haley smiled at the fact that Rachel could confide in her and be honest with her. She knew she was the type of person who only showed one side, the 'I'm too cool,' side, and she appreciated that she could show her that she had a genuine side. Haley on the inside was a nice and kind and caring person, once you got to know her you really enjoyed her company. Although she liked to wear black and piss people off, she actually had quite the girly side to her. She loved to sing, and she loved to go shopping (which nobody would expect,). The thing about Haley was, was that it was hard to let people into her life. She liked being social and making new friends, but she never let people in too far because she was afraid they'd slip away. Although she wanted a family of her own someday, she knew that would be difficult since she didn't believe in love.

"I'm sorry, Rachel. That's shitty." Haley said sincerely. "And you know, if you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here. I mean that in a totally non gay or weird way." Haley saw Rachel smile. "I can't say I understand, because I'm not exactly in the same situation as you, but I'm a pretty good listener."

"Thank you!" Rachel sighed in relief and smiled in relief to her new friend. "Everyone always tries to say, 'I understand,' and it's all bullshit! They don't know what I'm going through, they never will! You're the first person who can actually be honest with me, and I really appreciate that."

"I hate bullshitters," Haley said, "so I'm definitely not one of them. I know what you mean though about people saying they understand, nobody will understand the pain I felt when I watched someone murder my mother, nobody will understand the pain I felt when my dad blamed me for her death and beat me in anger, nobody will understand, nobody."

Rachel was shocked; she wasn't expecting Haley to open up to her so quickly. Rachel was sure that because of the events she'd experienced, that was why she was so reserved and so 'feisty'. That was usually the case of a 'troubled' child; abuse, murders, etc. Rachel admired Haley, she was a strong girl. "I'm _so _sorry Haley. That's horrible. How dare your father put that on you! You _witnessed _your mother's murder, and that's what he does? He blames you? That's pathetic, and really sad. I'm sorry."

"Thanks." Haley said as she looked down. "So, uh,where are we going?"

Rachel realized that Haley didn't want to talk about it anymore, so she abandoned the subject. "There's this really good sports bar here. It's owned by these two brothers, big sports fans. One went to Duke and was a Blue Devil for awhile before realizing it wasn't what he wanted to do or something, everyone thought he'd be in the NBA by now. The other has some fatal heart condition, which means that he can't play sports without being put at risk for heart attacks, so they opened up a sports bar together. It has great food, and it's all ages, we can sit at the bar but without fake ID's we can't drink, obviously. It's the only sports bar in the state that is all ages. It's quite the attraction."

Rachel pulled into a parking spot right in front of the sports bar, and made sure she put it in park, because she knew Haley loved her car. They got out of the car and entered the sports bar. Surprisingly, it was fairly busy for a Monday morning. There was a sign that stated that alcohol wasn't served until 12:00 PM, and now it was 11:00 AM. Haley had her fake ID with her, and she assumed that Rachel did too. They stood at the entrance, waiting to be assigned to a table.

Haley observed the 'bar'; it was quite fancy, and large. One half was filled with fancy, wooden tables that were made to seat four, and one half was a bar with big plasma screen TV's, playing some repeat of a Los Angeles Lakers game. "Where would you like to sit, Rach?"

"How about at the bar? It's not like we're allowed to drink yet, anyway." Rachel obviously meant that it was before 12:00, and no matter how old they were, they weren't allowed to drink for another hour. They waited until the hostess came and asked them where they preferred to sit. She led them to the bar and placed fancy menu's in front of them, and poured them water while they waited for their server. "Can I give you some friendly advice? Stay away from Peyton, and I say this to help you. She's really pissed off, and I know for a fact that she doesn't like you... don't take it personally. She's just jealous. Anyway, I have a feeling she's going to try and do something drastic. Of course it'll backfire, but I don't want you getting hurt or in serious trouble from it or anything. She'll probably try and 'buddy up' to you, so if she's nice to you don't think it's from good intentions."

"Thank's Rach," Haley said. "I don't really plan on becoming friends with her. I don't like jealous people, they're no fun and usually too serious. Have you ever heard the saying, 'Don't take life too seriously,'?"

"Yeah," Rachel nodded, "and obviously Peyton hasn't!"

The girls chuckled, but stopped once they noticed the absolutely gorgeous bartender or waiter or whatever he was standing in front of them, behind the bar. Rachel leaned in to whisper something to her new friend. "He's all yours, I see the way you're eying him! That's Nathan Scott, one of the owners." Haley blushed, but was secretly relieved when Rachel let Haley have 'dibs', even though Haley knew this hotty would _not _be interested in _her. _With her luck, he'd end up asking for Rachel's number.

"Can I get you ladies anything this morning?" He asked, looking at Haley. Rachel was sure that he was saying that seductively, but Haley didn't consider it.

Rachel was the first one to respond. "Can I have your number? It's for my beautiful friend right here. Isn't she beautiful? You'd be lucky as hell to have such a kind, fine lady like Haley James."

"RACHEL! What the hell?" She slapped her arm; Rachel winced a little bit and laughed. She mouthed 'Sorry'.

Nathan just laughed at the two comedic girls. "She is pretty beautiful, you're right." His kind words only caused Haley to turn an even deeper red than before, she couldn't believe he actually said that. Did he actually mean it? Did he actually think that her, Haley James, was beautiful? Well, she was sure that he was lying, and just trying to be polite. Nathan glanced at Haley, who was blushing uncontrollably. "Don't be embarrassed, it's the truth."

"I have to go to the bathroom," Rachel announced. "I'll be right back. Why don't you two... talk?"

Rachel walked off into the back where the bathrooms were located and Haley just stood there, unsure of what to say. Nathan watched her; she was visibly flustered, and she was not prepared to be left alone with him. Nathan decided that he'd start off, instead of the poor girl just sitting there. "So, Haley..."

"I'm, uh, sorry about my friend. I think she smoked some crack before we came here." She joked, causing him to let out a laugh. "What time does the bar open? I mean for drinks."

"12:00," Nathan told her. "But I could make an exception."

"Really..." Haley responded, unexpectedly seductively. "Well in that case, could you give me a Screaming Orgasm?"

Nathan smiled. "Sure thing."

Haley wasn't exactly sure what she was doing. She was never one to flirt, especially with strangers. As much as you'd think with her bad ass persona and everything, she'd only slept with one guy and it had turned out terribly wrong, and she'd always carried around the regret of even doing it. She had to admit though, Nathan had a certain charm, and the most gorgeous blue eyes that she'd ever seen. But she shook off her flirtatious thoughts, knowing that he wouldn't like someone as ugly and uninteresting as her. He'd probably go for Rachel, even though Rachel told Haley that she had dibs on Nathan. "So, my friend tells me you and your brother own this place? It's nice. I just moved here from Chicago."

"Yeah," Nathan confirmed. "Chicago? You moved from Chicago, to _Tree Hill? _I'm assuming there's a guy involved in this?" Nathan looked a little sad after he mentioned the possibility of another guy being involved in Haley's life, and Haley noticed. '_Maybe he is a little bit interested in me? No, Haley, stop that!'_

"I needed a change," she told him, which was partially true, "and no, there's no guy in my life, at the moment."

"_Really?_" Nathan asked, in obvious disbelief. He couldn't believe somebody as beautiful as her was single. With her gorgeous, shimmering brown eyes and flowing brunette hair, how could anybody _not _find her attractive. "That's hard to believe, Haley."

"It's the truth! I've had... bad luck with men in the past. They're either _too perfect _or not perfect enough. Or complete assholes. I'm beginning to think that I'm destined to be alone or something."

"You'll find someone." Nathan assured her. "It takes awhile, to find your soulmate, 'the one'. When you find him, you'll know, you'll know he's yours and you'll know without hesitation that it's meant to be."

Haley smiled at his wise words, and blushed a little. He had so much faith in her, and she didn't know why. She wasn't anything special, and she didn't believe that she had any unique looks to her. She was Haley James, plain Jane. Her confidence level with guys had plummeted right down after she'd met Rachel that morning, after seeing how beautiful she was. Then again, Rachel's looks were anything but natural, it didn't take a scientist to figure out that her nose and boobs were fake, she'd had lip injections, and that her fiery red hair was dyed. Whereas all of Haley's features, were all but fake, except for her hair. When she was in fifth grade, she realized that her blonde hair first of all didn't suit her, and was beginning to look a little fake considering she had naturally dark roots. So when she moved to Chicago a year after that, she decided to avoid rumors that it was best to dye her hair anyway. So she begged her aunt, Linda, to let her purchase brunette hair dye and dye her hair. Since then, she hadn't done a thing to her hair besides hair cuts.

"I don't know," Haley disagreed. "I mean, I'm not even sure if I believe in love, I mean if it's meant for me at least. I've been through some rough stuff, and it's just made me feel... I don't know how to describe it exactly. I'm afraid to let people in, you know? I just have this nagging feeling, that eventually they'll just slip away, whether I'm prepared for it or not."

Haley felt herself opening up to Nathan, and she couldn't understand why.

"I know what you mean, about the nagging feeling. But when you find 'the one', it goes away."

"How do you know that?" Haley asked, curious.

"Because I do." He smiled assuringly. Nathan then realized that maybe he should make his customer a drink before she filed some sort of complaint. He mixed the drink and slid it over to her, hoping he hadn't made it too strong for her liking. He watched her sip the drink slowly, it was apparent that she was no newbie to screaming orgasms. "How's your screaming orgasm?"

"It's blissful," Haley smiled. After her words, her redheaded friend returned to her spot at the table. She had been gone for awhile, a little too long, so Haley assumed that she was just giving the two space to get to know each other. And she was right.

"So, have you two made wedding plans yet?" Rachel asked; Haley knew Rachel was listening to their conversation, how could she not? Haley knew that she would if it had been Nathan and Rachel talking. Rachel watched her brunette friend shoot her an evil glare. "I'm kidding!"

Rachel knew that these two were meant for each other, whether they could see it at the moment or not. Rachel knew she was being a little silly, seeing as they just met, and Rachel had never actually met Nathan like this and had only seen him around the town, but she could see the way they sneaked glances at each other and smiled whenever one of them said anything. Rachel had some serious meddling to do, Haley James had no idea what was coming for her.

_xxx_

After Haley and Rachel had finished their drinks, they decided to go back to Rachel's place. Her house, was _huge. _Haley was used to large houses, but she wasn't expecting this. Haley's house wasn't quite as big since she bought it herself and she knew she didn't need that big of a place. Rachel's house was owned by her parents, who left Rachel the house while they traveled the world for business (and pleasure,). They also left their youngest daughter their credit card, so that she'd be well on her feet without any parental guidance. Rachel had been on her own since the day she turned thirteen, which was when her parents basically said, "Audios, see you soon... maybe." And took off. Rachel was fine at first, but over the years began feeling the loneliness and sadness slowly creeping into her. She missed having her parents around, she missed having a mother she could go to with her problems. Things were so much better before her parents inherited millions and millions of dollars from the deaths of Rachel's grand parents. She wished that her grand parents were still alive, and that she was still back in their middle-class house in Charleston.

Rachel had one older sister, Taylor Gatina, who was just like her sister in so many ways. Ambitious, outspoken, and an avid partier. Taylor was five years older than Rachel, so the year their parents left, Taylor left too to supposedly set off for college. Yeah right, Taylor? College? That was a dream that would never be happening. Taylor ended up becoming a groupie, following several bands, and sleeping with all of the guys, whether they were married or not. Taylor was also granted a credit card from her parents, but after awhile they ended up cutting her off since she spent _way _too much money on... well, sex toys. Taylor and Rachel never got along like true sisters, but when they were together they usually found something they could do that they would both enjoy. They either went shopping with the credit card Rachel had access too, or partying at the local clubs. Taylor even crashed some of Rachel's high school parties, and maybe picked up a few boys too.

She had gotten the idea of plastic surgery from her older sister, who went under the knife for her breasts when she was nineteen and was still allowed access to a credit card that belonged to her parents. Rachel was fourteen at the time, and was willing to do what any elder said, well any elder like her older sister who was "so cool". After she saw how amazing Taylor looked, she couldn't help but feel insecure and ugly. She stood in the mirror for hours that day, examining all the things that were wrong with her body and needed to be fixed. A half a year later, a fifteen year old Rachel Gatina got her first plastic surgery job done, a nose job. Then after that it was endless, breast implants, cheek lifts, and more. Thankfully she didn't go as extreme as Heidi Montag, but it was still a bit much for a teenage girl.

"Nice house," Haley finally commented as Rachel pulled Haley's car to a halt. They exited the car and entered the house, their footsteps echoing as they entered. Haley took a moment to glance around and examine the house. It was pretty clean for a teenager girl who had the house to herself without any parents. Haley automatically insisted to herself that there was a maid and Rachel wasn't a neat freak, she decided to ask anyway since she was curious. "Do you have a maid? Or do you just, not make a mess?"

"I have a maid that comes in when I want her too, which is rare." Rachel told her as they walked around the first floor of the house. Rachel led her into the kitchen, she noticed her stomach was hungry, and she had only really had alcohol in her stomach the whole entire day. "Suzie usually comes and helps me clean up after I have a party or something, otherwise I'm relatively clean. Suzie's a gem, and basically the only adult role model I have in my life. But hey, since you're nineteen, you could take that position."

Haley sighed. "How did you find that out? It's not a big deal or anything, I just don't really remember telling you..."

"You didn't." Rachel confirmed. "But when you were talking to the secretary I decided to take a look at your info, I saw it listed you born in nineteen-ninety one. What's the deal with that? From what I read, you don't seem that stupid."

"I used to live in Canada, until my mom died and I moved to Chicago, and the schooling systems in the States and Canada are entirely different so they ended up pushing me back a grade. It wasn't so terrible since I didn't know anybody and I was in a new place, it would have been way worse if I'd still been at my school, but it still sucked."

"Oh." Was all Rachel responded with. When Haley mentioned the words 'mom' and 'died' she wasn't exactly sure how to respond. Was she supposed to show her sympathy again, or was she supposed to ignore it, since Haley wasn't really implying anything about her mother. "Yeah, they're pretty different countries that's for sure. I went to Toronto once with my parents when I was nine... it was an experience."

"I'm from Vancouver, I've never been to Toronto, so I don't really know what it's like. I'm assuming not too different than Vancouver, they're both big cities and all." Haley said, not quite sure why they were talking about geography now. "Anyway, I think we should go back to that sports bar sometime soon, like really soon." Haley said eagerly. Rachel raised her eyebrows, realizing why Haley was so anxious to go back. "What?"

"You like him."

"Who?"

"Bartender boy," Rachel said, "well, owner boy, whatever."

"I do not!" Haley defended herself, turning red.

"Do too! I can tell just by the way you blushed when I mentioned him! Seriously, there is no need to deny it Hales. Go for him." Rachel insisted. Haley was being stubborn, and was obviously closeting her true feelings. It was obvious that Haley liked the guy, and that she was attracted to him and everything. Haley just needed to know that he liked her now, therefore Rachel had some meddling to do for sure. "Hales, I need to, er, run to the store for a minute. Can I get you anything while I'm gone?"

Haley shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Maybe a chocolate bar?"

"Sure thing," Rachel smiled, "and, uh, just make yourself at home. Bye!"

Rachel sprinted out the door and into her large, black GMC Denali, and sped off to a familiar sports bar. "Nathan Scott, you better be ready for me."

_xxx_

Rachel stepped into the familiar sports bar, taking a deep breath and hoping everything went as planned. She was greeted by Nathan, who was wondering why she was there for the second time in one day... and of course, where Haley was. "Well, I get that this is one of the best places to eat in Tree Hill, but two times in one day? Where's your friend Haley?"

"Well, no offense I mean you're right, but that's not why I came. I need to talk to you, actually." Rachel told him, he looked confused. Not many people came to the sports bar to have conversations with him, except the stupid girls who tried flirting with him, they usually failed miserably considering Nathan wasn't one to randomly go home with some girl. He was twenty-six years old, and that just wasn't right, he didn't believe it was really right whatever age you were. He believed in relationships, long-term relationships. Of course he flirted, but it was harmless flirting. "And your lover's back at my place, absolutely clueless that I'm here."

"Now I'm even more confused." Nathan said, leading her to the bar. There were a few people sitting on the bar stools, but at the other end of the bar. Nathan wasn't sure whether this was "private" or if it was okay that the whole bar might end up hearing it. "What could you possibly have to talk to _me _about?"

"Haley James."

**A/N: Okay, so I admit this isn't as long as I planned (once again,) but I got a little lazy while writing, I've been out a lot the past few days enjoying my last two weeks of summer (boo hoo!) and seeing movies and what not. Anyway, I still plan on making my chapters a little longer than this, the 5,000 - 6,000 range, which will most likely take me longer to write, which is a downfall for you guys, BUT you'll be getting more out of the chapter so in the long run, it's worth it right?  
Next chapter we get to see what Rachel has to say about Haley, whether Rachel's going to come through for her friend... or back-stab her. :) **

**And as you see, I've made Nathan OOC as well, he's not playboy Nathan Scott. He flirts, but that's about it. Some people wanted me not to have him as that type of person, so I decided to go along with what my readers wanted, and honestly I have a good storyline for this now so thank you for speaking up! If you have ANY suggestions for the story, please let me know either in a review or message me if you'd rather. I can't guarantee that I'll use it, but it's nice to hear what you'd like to happen. **

**Thank you SO much for all the kind reviews! I can't believe I'm at like, 50 already, that's insane. Amazingly insane. I promise right after I post this chapter I'll start working on the next one. I have a pretty free day today, but I'm tired since I fell asleep at like 5:00 AM :/ I couldn't fall asleep, so I watched some old-school Naley, season three y'all. I watched 3x16, the school shooting, I sobbed like a baby at the end and I flipped Dan off LMFAO. **

**Okay got a little off topic there. Anyway, thank you, and I hope to post another chapter soon! My goal is to update at least once a week, but I hope to be able to post pretty quickly without leaving you guys hanging. Things will get trickier once school starts, because I'll be swamped with homework and I don't get home until about 5:00 or 4:30 every day except Wednesday... but enough with that, that's the future, I only want to think about the present. This is a really long A/N, I apologize... **

**THANK YOU  
Kailyn **


	4. Chapter 4

When Rachel spoke the words, Haley James, it made Nathan's heart race. He felt like a complete pansy, but he couldn't stop thinking about her all day. Nathan was sure that she was the most beautiful girl in the whole entire world. It was visible that she had a somewhat bad ass persona, but he knew that she was a great person just from their short lived conversation. Plus, he thought the bad ass thing was pretty hot, especially on a girl like Haley. Nathan was hoping that Rachel was speaking kindly of Haley, because if she was just going to bad mouth her, and threaten Nathan to stay away from her, then he wouldn't be able to do that, therefore that would mean shit would go _down. "Now I'm over analyzing things," _Nathan thought to himself.

Before speaking, Nathan gulped, hoping that his voice didn't break or sound too excited. "What about... Haley James?"

"First of all, Haley James is one of the kindest, caring, and sympathetic people you will meet." Rachel said as she placed her purse on the bar. "I mean, I've only known her for not even a whole day, but I already know who she is. She's tough, strong, and totally kick ass. If you mess with her, you'll seriously wish you didn't, because she'll either embarrass the hell out of you or beat the shit out of you." Nathan chuckled, and was relieved to know that Rachel was here with good intentions. "Anyway, I saw what was going on between you two earlier. You obviously have some sort of... connection, and I don't want to see that go to waste. Haley is the type of person who's a little reserved, but I think that she was slowly opening up to you."

"How can you be so sure?" Nathan asked the redhead. "That she was slowly opening up to me."

"Because," Rachel said. "I told you, I already know who she is. It already feels like I've known her for years. Centuries. Decades. Whatever. Anyway, the point is, I think you two should get to know each other better. She doesn't know I'm here right now, I think she'd kill me out of embarrassment if she knew I was here, but I don't care. I think you would be a good fit in her life."

Nathan smiled at the thought. He felt happy when he was around Haley earlier, she was definitely the type of person he wanted around him. He knew it was soon, and he knew he was a little crazy, but he didn't really care either. And he appreciated that Rachel came and talked to him, because it definitely boosted his confidence level in terms of Haley James. "Thank you, Rachel. I really appreciate you coming down here and talking to me."

"No problem." Rachel smiled sincerely. "She's a nice person, she's really the only person I have to trust, you know? I'm not usually like this, all... helpful, but Haley deserves this, people being nice to her, she deserves a lot in this world. I'm not too good with my words, but do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"Yeah, I do." Nathan said. The impression Nathan was getting from Rachel, was that Haley was the type of person who could instantly change you, in a good way. She could make you want to do nice things, she made you want to be _nice, _she made you wanna be a nicer person. "So, when do I get to see her again?"

"That," she began, "is up to you. When would _you _like to see her again? We're going out tonight, probably to Tric or something- wait, that's perfect!" Rachel beamed, a grin on her face. "We're heading out to Tric at around 9:00 tonight, if you can, why don't you meet us there? That would be perfect. It'll be a 'coincidence'."

Nathan smirked. Rachel Gatina was a smart girl, probably smarter than people initially thought. The idea was perfect, and harmless. Haley would have no idea that Nathan would be there, and they'd "coincidentally" run into each other at the club, have a few drinks and talk. It wouldn't really be a date, but that would give Nathan the opportunity to ask her on one. "Sounds perfect, smart thinking. Is it alright if my brother comes too?"

"Of course," Rachel smirked, hoping he would ask that, "as long as he doesn't have the hots for Haley, too."

Nathan laughed, but it was a little bit of a nervous laugh. He hoped that Lucas wouldn't feel the same way about Haley, out of selfishness of course. Haley was a beautiful woman, so there was a chance that Lucas would have the same feelings. All Nathan had to do was let Lucas know about the situation, and then he'd understand. _"I'll set him up with Rachel," _Nathan thought oh so cleverly.

"Rachel, thank you so much, but I really have to get back to work, especially if I wanna be out of here by 8:00 so I can get ready for tonight."

"8:00?" Rachel giggled. "You sure take a long time to get ready, an hour?"

"Oh, no! I have to eat and-"

"I know, I was just messing with you."

"Oh, okay."

"See you tonight." With that, Rachel walked out of the sports bar, and left a grinning Nathan behind the bar. Rachel was extremely excited to see her plan in action, and she hoped that it went well. Rachel was a little baffled with herself, she didn't know if she'd ever done something this considerate of others before. She kind of liked the change, too. It made her feel nice, like she was worthy almost. She just hoped that Haley appreciated it, and didn't think of it as doing something behind her back, because then she'd feel awful.

_xxx_

Peyton Sawyer got into her Mercury Comet. The weather outside had changed from absolutely gorgeous, to pouring rain. She didn't care though, she didn't do up the top of her convertible, she drove in the rain like her birth mother, Ellie, taught her to do. Peyton was going over to Rachel's house, to hopefully convince her that this Haley bitch wasn't friend material for her. She was going to make up rumors, lies if she had to. Peyton despised Haley whatever her middle name was James, and she'd make it clear to Rachel. Peyton was sure that Rachel would be home alone, considering she barely ever invited people back to her house unless she was throwing a party or needed help setting the party up. Peyton had been in the house about four times maybe? Three out of the four times was because Rachel needed assistance while sick, and the other one, well, it was Rachel's "time of the month".

She pulled her car into the long driveway, and parked it in her usual, rare spot. She couldn't see the Denali anywhere, but she assumed it was just in the Garage. She could see the back of some black car sticking out of the side of the house, but she didn't put much thought into it. "Probably one of Mr. Gatina's many cars left behind," Peyton mumbled to herself. She went up and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Instead of ringing the bell, she stepped into the house, only to hear the faint sound of a television. When Peyton went into the living room, she was astonished to see _her_, all comfy and lounging on the couch of _her _best friend's house. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Well hello to you too, sunshine!" Haley said with fake enthusiasm. "I'm waiting for Rachel to get back, she had to run to the store and get some things, she told me to make myself at home while she was gone. What's it to you, Courtney Love?" Haley said after examining her outfit. It reminded her of the outfit she saw Courtney Love wearing out once in an issue of _Life & Style _magazine.

"Very funny." Peyton replied sarcastically, placing her hands on her hips. "I'm looking for _my _best friend you prissy little bitch."

_Oh no she didn't. _"You know what, Peyton? I don't know what the hell your problem is. You don't even know me, and you're already calling me a prissy little bitch? You have no right. But, if it's gonna be this way, two can play at this game you trashy vintage whore. Newsflash, "Courtney Love", the real one called and she wants her look back."

Now Haley and Peyton were standing in front of each other, face to face, filled with rage. Haley was ready to tear the bitch's face off, and she'd do it if she had too. She didn't get why Peyton was so PMS, what the hell had she done? "Go back to your trailer in Eight Mile, ho. That's where you're from, right? Detroit? Eight Mile?"

"Look's like _someone _hasn't been doing her research. If you're going to insult someone, make sure you're getting your facts straight first you bimbo. Didn't your _mother _ever teach you anything?"

Peyton was trying her best to fight the tears that wanted to escape. She knew she couldn't technically bitch at Haley for mentioning her dead mother (s) but she wanted so much just to slap her. Peyton didn't really have any comebacks anymore, she felt weak and tired.

"That's what I thought." Haley retreated back to the couch, and stared blankly at the television. She was interuppted by Rachel's booming voice, entering the house.

"Hales! We're going to Tric tonight!" Rachel informed her, not realizing she had a visitor. Rachel was surprised when she heard no response, so she was convinced Haley had fallen asleep on the couch or something. "Haley, you awake?"

"Oh, she's wide awake." Peyton said with traces of her southern accent. Peyton smirked, realizing that Rachel hadn't exactly wanted her to know that Haley was over at her house, when Peyton had only been there a few times and never to simply hang out or wait for Rachel to return. "Can you explain... _this_?"

"I shouldn't have to explain shit, Peyton." Rachel snapped, looking over to Haley who was sitting on the couch innocently watching television. "Haley is my friend, and if you can't accept that, then you're an even bigger bitch than you already were. Unlike you, Haley actually listens to me!"

"What the hell is _that _supposed to mean?" Peyton asked sharply. On the couch, Haley couldn't help but smirk a little bit. Peyton obviously was feeling "outed", and it was so sixth grade. So what, Rachel's making new friends, why can't she? Haley was beginning to realize that Peyton didn't really have any social skills. Peyton noticed Haley, and immediately called her out. "What the fuck is so funny you two dollar ho."

Rachel couldn't help but laugh. Peyton was horrible at insults, she usually went "too far" with them, calling to try people ho's and sluts, and they ended up sounding all too stupid. Rachel wasn't the best either, but at least she could make people feel bad. Peyton just made people laugh, and that pissed her off. She had _a lot_ to learn. "Seriously, two dollar ho, that's the best you've got? Peyton, c'mon!"

"Yeah seriously_ Courtney Love, _that's all you've got?" Haley grinned, knowing Peyton was beyond pissed off and annoyed at the name.

"Courtney Love? Hey that's a good one!" Rachel high-fived Haley, which only pissed Peyton off more, if that was humanly possible at the moment. Peyton's outfit _was _a little Courtney Love, Rachel had to agree with Haley there. "Peyton, I think you should leave."

"Whatever," Peyton huffed, walking towards the door. "I know you're using Haley, for whatever reason, she'll figure it out the hard way and then you'll come crawling back to me. Peace out bitches."

_'Peace out bitches? Seriously?' _Rachel thought silently. Haley burst out into fits of laughter, she couldn't believe what had just happened. Peyton had definitely made her day, and it would definitely be a memorable visit from her. Haley understood that Peyton was incredibly jealous, but she couldn't completely understand _why. _Haley didn't believe that anybody needed to be jealous of her, at all. She had some money, but that was left to her from her mother's death, and so she wasn't exactly "rich" under the right circumstances. Her brother bought her house, therefore it's not even really hers. Her car had been her mother's, but Haley switched it over to her name when she turned sixteen and got her license. Her mother had died when she was twelve, so the car was in storage for four years before Haley could actually touch it.

"So... that was funny." Rachel commented as she walked to the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of water and took a few sips before placing it back into the giant, stainless steel fridge. Haley was trying to control her laughter. Rachel walked over to her laughing friend, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Haley, I just want to warn you... Peyton is _not _going to back down. When she's adamant about something... she makes sure it's going to happen, or that she'll make a good effort at least. I just hope that she doesn't do something to scare you away completely. I probably sound pretty gay, but I like having you around Haley."

Haley couldn't believe how much her and Rachel's friendship had progressed in the past few hours. Haley had really grown to like Rachel, and was glad that she had a friend at Tree Hill High so she wasn't a complete loser. Plus, she knew that when she was around Rachel, she wouldn't be. But that's definitely not why Haley was friends with her. Rachel seemed nice, but a little lonely. Haley could tell that she definitely didn't get much affection growing up in her household, and that's probably why she didn't open up to as many people. The two girls had some sort of connection, a connection that Rachel would never have with Peyton, and a connection Peyton would never understand.

"It doesn't sound _too _gay," Haley teased, "but I like having you around, too." They started laughing about the Peyton encounter again, before Haley realized she had to run home before their night out. "Uh, Rach, sorry I just remembered there's something I have to do at home before we go out tonight. I'll be gone like an hour tops, okay? See you later!"

Haley didn't even let Rachel speak before she was out the door and in her car, heading for her house. Haley was panicking, what if he was already there? What if he was waiting for her? "Shit," she muttered to herself, pressing the pedal down further and further. When she finally arrived home, she was relieved to know that nobody was there. She took a quick look around her house before she went into her room and rummaged through her closet, trying to figure out what she'd wear to her and Rachel's outing that night. Haley couldn't think without any background music, so she pressed play on her iPod, which was sitting in it's docking station.

_You shatter me _  
_Your grip on me _  
_A hold on me_  
_So dull it kills _  
_You stifle me _  
_Infectious sense _  
_Of hopelessness and _  
_Prayers for rain _  
_I suffocate _  
_I breathe in dirt _  
_And nowhere shines_  
_But desolate_  
_And drab the hours all spent _  
_On killing time again _  
_All waiting for _  
_The rain_

"Seriously? Haley mumbled at the song choice, realizing it was all too perfect for the current situation. Her iPod had a tendency to do that; when she put it on shuffle, it would usually go to the song that fit perfectly in her current, messed up, life situation. Haley picked up her home phone, realizing there was a missed call from a number she didn't recognize. She did however, recognize the area code. "604? Vancouver- oh shit." She started to panic, was he calling to let her know he was on her way to Tree Hill, to find her? To hurt her more than he had before? Haley calmed herself down before she pressed play on her message machine. She took a deep breath, and listened to the message.

**_"Well well well Haley, I know we've had our.. differences in the past, but is this any way to treat your old father? Ignoring his calls? I've called three times today, Haley. Three times." _**There was a brief pause, before he started to talk again. _**"Please don't tell me you're going to school. You're nineteen years old, nineteen year olds don't belong in high school, Haley. And you? You don't belong in school at all. You're supposed to be with me, your old pop. Remember me? Remember all the... good times, we've shared?" **_Haley shivered in disgust, wishing she had never started listening to the message. **_"I hope to see you soon, Haley. I know where you live, remember that." _**

With that, the message ended. Haley couldn't control herself. She let out loud, fright filled sobs and collapsed onto the hardwood floor. She held herself tightly, praying for a miracle.

_You fracture me _  
_Your hands on me _  
_A touch so plain _  
_So stale it kills _  
_You strangle me _  
_Entangle me _  
_In hopelessness and _  
_Prayers for rain _  
_I deteriorate _  
_I live in dirt _  
_And nowhere glows _  
_But drearily and tired _  
_The hours all spent _  
_On killing time again _  
_All waiting for _  
_The rain_

**A/N: So we've learned from the previous chapter that Haley's dad blamed her for the murder of her mother, and that he abused her. You'll learn more about him in the next chapter, and you'll also get to see Rachel and Haley's night out... with Lucas and Nathan. Now don't jump to conclusions and think that I'm making Rachel and Lucas a couple, you don't know that yet. :)**

**Again, thank you for the reviews! :)**

**The song in this chapter was "Prayers for Rain" by The Cure. I _love _The Cure, so a few of there songs will probably be featured throughout the story. Also, I realize this chapter is short and I meant to make it longer, but I wanted to give you something before I go away tomorrow, I won't have my laptop with me or any internet access. I'll be gone until Wednesday or Thursday, so there won't be any updates for awhile. I probably should have made this longer for you guys, but I really don't have a lot of time to write because I'm getting ready for my trip and everything. My apologies, you guys definitely deserve a longer chapter than this! I PROMISE PROMISE PROMISE triple dog PROMISE that the next chapter will be twice as long as this, at least. **

**Also, I'd like to just say RIP Murphy Delesalle. I didn't know you, but I wish I had, I know you were a beautiful and kind girl, who deserved more time on this Earth than you received. 3**

**THANK YOU!  
Kailyn **


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